Podcasts · Episode
Ravi Shankar
Program: NoteWorthy
Aired: Monday, September 14, 2026
Hosted by Loki Karuna
If you ask me, one of the only things more beautiful than cultural expression is cross-cultural exchange: it’s like making a new friend and sharing your ideas and experiences in a way that creates something completely new. And in the world of music, cross-cultural dialogue has produced some of the most breathtaking sounds you could imagine. Hi – I’m Loki Karuna, and on this edition of Noteworthy, we’re going to listen in on a musical dialogue between East and West, guided by the legendary Ravi Shankar.
Born in India in 1920, Ravi Shankar became a global ambassador for North Indian classical music. Through his mastery of the sitar, he introduced millions of listeners around the world to sounds that predate virtually all of what you and I might call classical music. Seeing the impact that this musical cultural exchange had around the globe, Ravi eventually combined the classical traditions of the East and West, premiering his Concerto for Sitar and Orchestra with the help of the London Symphony in 1971.
Over his long and celebrated life, Ravi Shankar earned multiple Grammy awards, bridged his work into popular music, and received the highest civilian honors in India, fundamentally shifting how we all engage with global sounds. He showed the world that classical music comes in many forms, and has no borders, which easily earns him a spot as one of history’s most Noteworthy human beings.
Noteworthy is a production of WDAV classical public radio.